( 9 reviews )
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Posted: May 2 2009
Wow! This is a tiny book that's packed with huge thoughts on the mysteries and workings of prayer. When my mentor first handed it to me I thought, 'Good. I should be able to finish this in a few days and keep trucking.' Wrong. It took me a long time. Of course, I was reading it along side of something else, but still. I just wasn't expecting it to be so heady. (It's Lewis on prayer. I don't know why I thought it would be a cake walk.) Throughout the book Lewis makes these small, effortless statements that made me put the book down, take off my glasses, rub my forehead and stare out the window off into the mountains thinking, 'What in the world does that mean?' Or, 'There are so many implications connected to that simple statement.' And my head would begin racing (or just hurting). Lewis comes at prayer from a base of God's immutable timelessness. So in order to agree with him on some of his thoughts on prayer, it may be important to agree with him on that aspect of God's character. (See also my review of Terrance Tiessen's Providence & Prayer.) What I appreciate most in Letters to Malcolm are Lewis's insights, or what he calls "festoonings" concerning the Lord's Prayer. This I found to be very practical for the ways in which Lewis applies Christ's instructions on prayer to his life: What does it mean to pray, "Thy Kingdom come," and, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"? I'm a fan of Lewis, and I enjoyed his mind-stretching commentary on prayer. It is encouraging that a mind like C.S. Lewis finds prayer to be just as mysterious as I do.
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Posted: Feb 24 2009
"Domine Exaudi Vocem Meum" . . . C.S.Lewis . . . like Thomas Merton, was a man of faith . . . a man of thought . . . a man of contemplation . . . a man of prayer . . . and a writer . . . and so he frequestly lived and expressed his belief, his thought, his prayer, his soul, on paper, in words, in phrases and sentences and paragraphs which both communicated his spiritual pilgrimage and which also became classic "still shot photographs in words" of "everyman" . . . This is a short volume, not many pages, and can be read quickly . . .but which then draws you back to read and re-read passages more slowly and more thoughtfully and more reflectively so that like a spring rain, drop by drop, Lewis's reverent personal thoughts on "communicating with God" can sink in and help our own life of prayer to take root and grow and develope. as you read his "letters to Malcolm", don't approach them as if you were eavesdropping or a snooping voyeur spying on Lewis's private papers, but think of yourself as being "Malcolm" and these letters as having been written and addressed to "you" (beause they were . . .and are). You will find much of your own self referenced in his words and thoughts. Lewis doesn't and never tell anyone "how to pray", nor does he criticize how anyone else approaches prayer. he makes it clear that prayer is something we all share in common, yet is personal and unique to each individual person (it is not a procrustean bed, a one-size fits all, or all must fit one size device). but he does share HIS prayer experiences and what has benefited and served him in his walk and talk with God and his fellowman . . . and in reading, we also get reflection of our own selves as wwe walk along with C.S. Lewis on that same pilgrimage journey toward a common desitination, destiny and end point (or "beginning point" perhaps being more accurate to say). What is so good about C.S. Lewis is that he can take deep ideas and make them so much less threatening . . . it is exactly like a conversation with a good friend over a cup of tea or on an evening stroll, where all the pretenses are down,and we talk for real, not trying to impress or be impessed, but simply to speak reality. (although, C.S. Lewis never fails to impress! ha!) Reading any of C.S. Lewis's books or writings on faith and religion is more than worthwhile and rewarding. and "Letters To Malcolm: Chiefly On Prayer" is no exception. and a small book not to be missed or passed-by . . . it may surprise you how after you read it, you will find yourself returning to it more than once to savor sections or paragraphs that just ring with a resonance you identify with and recognize your own prayer relationship in.
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Posted: Apr 23 2008
I should get this out of the way at the beginning: Lewis is probably my favorite layman theologian (which are the best kind). So keep in mind my opinion may be slighly biased. But these are reviews, and whose review isn't an opinion? And whose opinion isn't biased? There is surprisingly little reiterated Lewis-thought in this little book. Of course there is some, but that's to be expected and even desired. Legitimate ideas hold ground much longer than a lifetime. I feel like a parrot reiterating the content, as other reviews have done a fit job. But I will anyway. Lewis discusses prayer, prayer for the dead, a kind of purgatory (which is important to note that it's a "kind". People too easily categorize Lewis's thought as belonging to a particular sect, but anyone who's read Lewis knows his thoughts are unique and they rarely fit perfectly into the theological moldings of the majority), the resurrection of the body, psychology, and, in his last letter, an interesting bit about "liberal" Christians (be sure to put liberal into historical context. Liberal Christians then are not necessarily liber Christians now). Admittedly, a found some sections difficult to follow, but that is probably due to my own mental lax. Other, more read, more apprehensive readers will likely draw on pools that I could not reach. The most rewarding aspect of this book for me was that it presented Lewis thought which I had never been exposed to - and I have read a great deal of his writing. On top of that, the book was short, running about 120 pages or so if my memory serves. There is nothing quite so good as a short book full of deep meaning. Recommended without reservation.
